Word.ws English Dictionary

amphitryon

/æmˈfɪtɹiən/

amphitryon noun: a host or entertainer.

Noun (1)

amphitryon (plural amphitryons)

  1. (poetic) A host or entertainer.
    • Our amphitryon emptied into it six bottles of Bordeaux, four of sherry, and two of rum, sweetening and seasoning the whole with sugar and nutmeg.1875, Paul Marcoy, Travels in South America, page 96
    • [...] Lord Glenesk, who is a great amphitryon; [...]1903, The Lady’s Realm, volume 14, page 424

Proper noun capitalized: Amphitryon

Amphitryon

  1. (Greek) A son of Alcaeus and the husband of Alcmene; Zeus assumed his form to trick Alcmene into conceiving Heracles.

Noun (2) capitalized: Amphitryon

Amphitryon (plural Amphitryons)

  1. Alternative letter-case form of amphitryon
    • With us generally the fault is the other way, and our Amphitryons 'lay on' the beverage too freely, which is also, though not equally, a mistake, for the best champagne when drunk pure, cloys upon the palate sooner than any other wine.1848, The Knickerbocker, volume 31, page 303

Examples of amphitryon in a sentence

  • The supreme homage of a great amphitryon who did not forget that the table serves diplomacy!1955, Eugène Herbodeau, Georges Auguste Escoffier, page 115:
  • Blanchard’s magic wand, the most representative brains and wills of the world’s governments, workers and employers meeting in Geneva, the amiable and hospitable amphitryon of the Swiss Alps.1981, International Labor Conference Record of Proceedings, pages 15-5:

Forms of amphitryon

pluralamphitryons
pluralAmphitryons

Origin of amphitryon

From Amphitryon, from Ancient Greek Ἀμφιτρύων (Amphitrúōn). So named from the portrayal of Amphitryon in Molière's comedy (itself based on Plautus's) as giving a great dinner.

From Ancient Greek Ἀμφιτρύων (Amphitrúōn). The noun amphitryon, sometimes capitalized (see examples below), comes from the portrayal of Amphitryon in Molière's comedy (itself based on Plautus's) as giving a great dinner.

Words formed from amphitryon

Questions about amphitryon

What does amphitryon mean?
Amphitryon means a host or entertainer.
How do you use amphitryon in a sentence?
The supreme homage of a great amphitryon who did not forget that the table serves diplomacy!
What part of speech is amphitryon?
Amphitryon can be a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce amphitryon?
Amphitryon is pronounced /æmˈfɪtɹiən/.
What is the plural of amphitryon?
The plural of amphitryon is amphitryons.

Words near amphitryon in the dictionary

  1. amphitropic
  2. amphitropical
  3. amphitropism
  4. amphitropous
  5. amphitropously
  6. amphitryon
  7. amphitryonic
  8. amphitryons
  9. amphitype
  10. amphitypes
  11. amphiuma

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: amphitryon (page history and authors); Amphitryon (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “amphitryon.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/amphitryon. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.